The long-delayed dedication of a bench in memory of a New Kensington girl murdered more than 40 years ago is set for the first weekend in July.
Relatives of Tiffany Renee Miller, including some from out of state, are expected to be among those attending the ceremony at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 2 at the city’s JFK Park on Fourth Avenue next to Mt. Calvary Mission Baptist Church.
Tiffany was 5 when she went missing from her Peach Court home in September 1979. Her body was found 5 miles away in the Allegheny River eight days later.
The case remains unsolved. Tiffany is buried at Union Cemetery in Arnold.
Family friend Aaron Moore of Arnold spearheaded the effort to secure and pay for the memorial. The bench cost $1,720. Moore raised $1,660 through an online fundraiser on GoFundMe and received a $500 contribution from former state Rep. Frank Dermody’s campaign, for which Moore had worked.
The placement and dedication of the bench, first planned for April 2020, was delayed by the covid pandemic.
The bench has been in storage at a city garage. Moore said he has yet to see it.
“It’s a long time coming,” he said. “More important is what it means to the family, that there’s a little piece of Tiffany here. People can sit down and have her in their thoughts.”
Tiffany’s mother, Gail Rivera, said she will be there with other members of the family. She said they are happy about the bench being dedicated.
“It means a lot to me. It really does,” said Rivera of Wilkinsburg. “I just wish they would find out who did that to my daughter. It’s been so long.
“Instead of them trying to point the finger at me, find out who did that to my baby,” she said. “I don’t know who did it. I don’t know why they did it. I had nothing to do with it.”
Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers announced in July 2020 that new information had been discovered in the case and that a $10,000 reward was being offered for information that solves it.
No details were given on what new information had been discovered.
